Electrical connectors are used in a number of medical devices, such as pacemakers, defibrillators, and neuro-stimulators. Medically implantable electrical connectors are inherently different from many other electrical connectors due to the environment and critical nature of their use. Such medical connectors must not only be made from biocompatible materials, but also should provide positive and unvarying conductivity in order to ensure reliability of a functioning medical device.
Noble metals have been found to provide desirable conductivity when placed between non-noble metal materials, such as stainless steel. However, noble metals exhibit a significantly lower ultimate tensile strength and are considerably more expensive than conventional implanted materials such as stainless steel or titanium. Accordingly, there is a need to produce an electrical connector which provides the desirable conductivity of noble metals combined with the desirable spring qualities of stainless steel and is relatively inexpensive to manufacture.